Term 3 Week 9 2025

Principal's Message

‘We do whatever it takes to lead the way in Love, Learning, Faith, School Spirit, Sport & Community’

Dear families and friends,

Learning 

Our adoption of Explicit Direct Instruction (EDI) has had such a profound affect on student achievement and engagement across all year levels at SMP.

Since implementing this evidence-based teaching approach, we've witnessed a remarkable surge in student confidence and mastery of key concepts. EDI ensures every student has a clear understanding of what they need to learn, why it's important, and how to achieve it.

EDI involves clear, concise and sequential teaching of new skills and knowledge. Teachers break down complex topics into manageable steps, model desired behaviours and thought processes, and provide ample opportunities for guided and independent practice with immediate feedback. This "I do, We do, You do" approach ensures that students are actively involved in their learning, rather than passively receiving information.

Students are no longer left to "discover" concepts on their own or over struggle to solve problems. Our teachers explicitly state learning objectives, provide clear explanations, and offer a wide range of examples and non-examples. This eliminates confusion and builds a strong foundational understanding for all learners.

When students know exactly what is expected of them and how to succeed, their motivation soars. We're seeing more students actively participating, asking insightful questions, and taking ownership of their learning. This newfound confidence is particularly evident in our struggling learners, who are now experiencing greater success.
By systematically building knowledge and providing frequent opportunities for practice and review, EDI helps students move information from short-term to long-term memory. This means they are not just memorising facts, but truly understanding and being able to apply what they've learned in new contexts.

Our teachers have embraced EDI with enthusiasm. The clear structure and focused nature of EDI lessons allow them to be highly effective in delivering instruction, identifying misconceptions, and providing targeted support where it's needed most.

We are incredibly proud of our students' dedication and the commitment of our teaching staff in embracing Explicit Direct Instruction. This pedagogical shift is not just about teaching more efficiently; it's about fostering a learning environment where every student feels empowered to succeed. Our NAPLAN results and all other assessments have shown this great growth.

Student Free Days Ahead:

• Friday 26th September (Last day of Term): Staff working on the new curriculum
• Monday 13th October (First Day of Term 4): Staff working on Australian Aboriginal Culture
• Friday 28th November (Day after the Christmas Concert): Staff working on Teaching & Learning

Take care
John O’Brien

Assistant Principal's News - Mission

Mobile Laundry Trailer Launching Soon!

We are incredibly excited to announce that our Mobile Laundry Trailer will be up and operational during the first few weeks of Term 4! Thanks to the generous support, tireless fundraising, and true school spirit of our community, we have now raised over $50,000 to bring this project to life - well beyond our original target. This is a phenomenal achievement that reflects our commitment to service, compassion and practical support for those doing it tough.

The Mobile Laundry Trailer will be available free of charge to anyone in the community who needs access to washing and drying facilities.  In the coming weeks, we’ll share more details about the location, operating days and times.

We’ve also begun building strong partnerships with community organisations like Momentum Collective, who we’ll work alongside to offer this service with care and dignity.  As the project grows, we’ll invite interested parents and their children to volunteer their time and help supervise the trailer during rostered shifts.  Keep an eye out for more information early next term!

This is mission in action - and we couldn’t be prouder. Thank you for continuing to lead the way in Love, Learning, Faith and Community.

Croc-Tober / All Hallows / Halloween – Coming Soon!

Mark your calendars! Thursday 31st October is our very own Croc-Tober Day - our fresh and fun take on Socktober. On this day, students who own Crocs are encouraged to wear them, and we’ll be celebrating in style with Carlo Acutis and SMP-themed Croc Charms available for purchase. Students can also dress up for All Hallows/Halloween with creative, fun and modest costumes.  All funds raised on the day will go towards our Mobile Laundry Trailer Project and Catholic Missions (50/50), helping bring dignity to those doing it tough. Kmart and many online stores have Croc-style shoes available for purchase for about $6.

Carlo Acutis Canonisation – A Moment of History

On Sunday 7th September, our global Catholic community witnessed a truly historic moment - the canonisation of Carlo Acutis, the first millennial saint. Carlo’s life, although short, was rich in faith, compassion, and a deep love for the Eucharist.  At our school, we have spent much of the year learning about Carlo’s inspiring story and how he used technology and his daily life to live out the Gospel.  His canonisation is not only a celebration of his life, but a call to all of us - especially our young people - to live boldly and faithfully in our world today.  St Carlo Acutis, pray for us.

Congratulations to Our Year 4 Students

Over the past few weeks, our Year 4 Catholic students have been preparing for the Sacrament of First Holy Communion. This is a very special moment in their faith journey and one that we, as a school and parish community, are proud to celebrate with them. Congratulations to each of our communicants - you have taken another beautiful step in deepening your relationship with Jesus. A heartfelt thank you to the families, teachers and parish leaders who have supported our students so faithfully during this time.

Jubilee Boat Visiting Casino Parish – A Pilgrimage of Hope

As part of the Church’s Jubilee Year celebrations, the Jubilee Boat - a special symbol of our diocesan pilgrimage - is coming to the Casino parish from Monday 28th October for a few days. The Jubilee Boat is travelling to every parish in our Diocese as a sign of our shared mission of hope, renewal and community. While it is with us, we will join together with SMCC to pray a decade of the Rosary.


Sam Irvine
AP Mission

Assistant Principal's News Teaching & Learning

Student Led Conferences

Our Semester 2 Student Led Conferences are on Wednesday and Thursday next week, and we are looking forward to sharing your child's learning journey with you. These are a wonderful opportunity to get a better understanding of your child's current successes in the classroom and work with them to identify the next step in their learning. The children will share their Success Criteria Report with you and some work that demonstrates how they have shown their learning to achieve their current results on this. These meetings are 10 minutes long, and teachers are instructed to keep strictly to this time limit to ensure equity for students and families, and to ensure appointments run on time. If you feel you will need longer than 10 minutes please arrange an appointment at another time.

Bookings for these conferences close tomorrow and can be done through your child's Compass dashboard.

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about this - felicity.wilde@lism.catholic.edu.au

Extending our Learning at SMP- Escaping the Maths Classroom

Here at SMP, we know that the best way to teach our students new content is through Explicit Instruction. Once our students have this knowledge, in order for them to transfer the learning into their permanent memory, it is important that they use these skills to solve higher-order problems. In 2 North, they have been using their new skills to complete an "Escape Room". The only way the students could escape is by solving higher-order mathematical equations that require them to think critically and put their new learning into practice. Below you can see some photos of the students working collaboratively to solve the problems. Thankfully, everyone escaped this time and is able to head home for the weekend.

Felicity Wilde
AP Teaching & Learning

2 North's Escape Room Challenge

Leader of Faith

Mini Vinnies Sleepout

Last night approximately 45 members of our Year 6 Mini Vinnies group enjoyed our annual sleepout/sleepover. Our afternoon began at 5.00pm with free time, some playing footy while others sang karaoke on the new deck. The first challenge of the night was to buy dinner at McDonald's with just $7 to appreciate the plight of the poor. Their next challenge was to sleep in the Cola on a piece of cardboard for 25 minutes in silence, again appreciating the nightly experience of the homeless. Then it was time to enjoy the company of friends with games of Twister, Ping Pong, a movie, card games and a few lollies.  Leading the way in Faith ...

Karen McDonald
Leader of Faith

Leader of Love and Community

Father’s Day

On Friday, 5th September, SMP held our Father’s Day Prayer Service and celebration. It was a wonderful afternoon acknowledging and honouring the fathers and father figures in our lives who do so much.

The service was led beautifully by our Year 6 Leaders of Faith, followed by a very cute performance from our Kindergarten students. Afterwards, our dads, pops, and uncles enjoyed a hot pie and a cool drink together in our new Sister Centre.

It was lovely to witness the laughter, joy and togetherness of our wonderful SMP community.

A big thank you to all the families who sent in a ‘Dad Joke’ video. We loved seeing your creativity and humour - it was a fun way to celebrate and share some laughter together.

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Acts of Hope

Last Friday, our Year 6 students headed out into the community as part of their Acts of Hope. Students visited Richmond Lodge Nursing Home, St Mary’s Preschool, Winton Nursing Home and Casino Baptist Preschool. They also provided window washing services for local shopfronts, cleaned graves and supported our groundsman with tasks around the school.

This special initiative is a wonderful way for our Year 6 leaders to give back to the community in meaningful ways. Through their service, they are building relationships with some of our most vulnerable, while also developing a strong sense of pride in their community.  They should be so proud of their efforts in spreading love, joy and hope.

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Remembering Our Loved Ones – All Souls’ Day

At SMP, we do whatever it takes to lead the way in faith. As part of this, we take time to celebrate and remember the lives of those we love who are no longer with us.

We will celebrate All Souls’ Day on Friday, 31st October.

If you would like a loved one remembered as part of our All Souls’ Day celebration, we invite you to contribute in one of the following ways:

• Bring a copy or printed photo of your loved one
  
  
• Take a photo of yourself holding a picture of them
  
  
• Draw a picture in their memory
  
  

Please ensure any photos sent in are copies, not originals, as we don’t want special keepsakes to be lost or damaged.

We have prepared a special space at school to display these contributions, honouring and remembering those we hold close in our hearts.

If you would like to contribute, please give your photo or picture to Mrs Hammond by Friday 24 October, Week Two, Term 4.

Nicole Hammond
Leader of Love and Community

Sport News

Polding Athletics
Congratulations to Hallie Kenny, Mathew Gilmore, Rocco Jenkins, Lucas Myers, Brody Clapham, Marcos Barber and Billy Stavenow who represented our school at the Polding Athletics Carnival in Week 8 at Newcastle. Reaching this level is an outstanding achievement, and we are so proud of the effort, commitment, and sportsmanship shown by every competitor.
A special congratulations goes to the following students who have now qualified for the PSSA Athletics Carnival at Sydney Olympic Park next term:

• Senior Boys Relay
  Well done to Marcos Barber, Rocco Jenkins, Brody Clapham and Billy Stavenow who placed 2nd in the Senior Boys Relay. The team ran with incredible pace and teamwork, and we are excited to see them shine at the next level.

• Lucas Myers
  An extraordinary achievement from Lucas, who not only won 1st place in the Senior Boys Shot Put but also broke a 29-year-old Polding record with a throw of 11.70m! Earlier this year, Lucas also set a new school record with a throw of 10.20m, meaning he has improved by an incredible 1.5m since our school carnival. This is an exceptional accomplishment, and we wish him the very best of luck at the PSSA Championships.

Netball Championships 
Congratulations to our Stage 3 Girls Netball team who represented our school at the NSW All Schools Netball Championships in Lismore during Week 9. The girls showed wonderful teamwork, determination, and school spirit throughout the day, competing strongly against some very tough opposition. We are so proud of their efforts and the way they represented our school.

Casino Fun Run
This Sunday, many of our students, staff and families will be taking part in the Casino Fun Run. It promises to be a wonderful community event and we’d love to see as many supporters as possible cheering on our SMP runners. Races will start and finish at QEII, with SMP shirts proudly represented across the 10km, 5km and 2km events. We look forward to a fantastic morning of fitness, fun and school spirit!
Please see below for a rough timetable of events and race times.

Cohen Parrish
Sport Co-ordinator 

2026 Term Dates

The Diocese of Lismore Catholic Schools office has issued term dates for 2026.  Each school will set their Professional Learning days throughout the year altering the start and end date for each term.  Kinder 2026 will start Term 1 later than the rest of the school.

Term 1:  Wednesday 28 January to Thursday 2 April

Term 2:  Monday 20 April to Friday 3 July

Term 3:  Monday 20 July to Friday 25 September

Term 4:  Monday 12 October to Thursday 17 December 

Father's Day thank you

The Father's Day Stall was run successfully on 5 September with just over 1,000 gifts chosen and gift wrapped.  We give a BIG thank you to:  Danni Patton, Hannah Clark, Aprillia McSweeney, Jessica Carter, Katrina Clark, Kimberley Skinner, Sally Gooley, Courtney Gill, Sophie Convine, Debra Marshall, Latitia McCormack, Ian Dibley, Kiralyn Flack with Aubrey and Sharon Flack.  The stall could not run without the help of these parents.  Thank you.      

Birthdays

Happy birthday to Charli Quinnell-Billett Mackinly Walker Jaxon Armfield Telijah MacMahon Athea Bate Alyssia-Rose Mole Nicholas Marshall Ruby Benn Sophie Robinson Kallan Hancock Claudia McDonald Karnee Kingdom Emmy Shaw Eloise King Pheobe Short Oskar Garsden-Williams Brooke Young Genevieve Hines Libby Johnston April Anderson Ashton Presbury Tilly Cowan Caleb Law Abigail Brooks Connor Clark Nash Campbell Grayson Gannon Jacob Rose Nate Bennett Cate McElligott Ava Armstrong Harrison Stokes Antonio Garzoni Wyatt Newby Cohen Cox Miley Gooley Lacey Russell Mylo Hilton William Vidler Lachlan Hogg Axel Roberson Aleiah Keep Inika Johnston Jaxon Buttriss Brooklyn Trustum Peyton Gill Teddy Miller Harry Clark Sawyer Miller Regan Walker Archie King Hattie Shirm Luca McDonald Jimmy McKenzie Ella Davis and Ellery MacRae who have and who will celebrate their birthday by the end of the month.

Casino Show

The Casino show will be held on Friday 10 and Saturday 11 October at the Casino Showground.  There is a colouring competition for Kinder - Year 2.  Entries in cooking, craft, needlework, art and horticulture for school children can be entered in the Pavilion for judging. For more information phone 6662.1076 or by email to  office@casinoshowsociety.com